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Friday, 20 December 2013

Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater is a must-read author for this generation. Not only is she charming and a down-to-earth in person, but she's a talented writer. Stiefvater's words flow across the pages, constructing an addictive story that will have you reading late into the night.

Although the subject matter isn't really my thing (witches, psychics, ghosts), The Raven Boysis a thrilling story and I enjoyed reading it very much. The premise of the story is this: the daughter of a psychic befriends attractive group of boys from elite prep school and follow clues on a supernatural treasure hunt of sorts. Murder, mystery, and danger surround a ghostly legend, along with the supernatural, tarot cards, psychic readings, and black magic rituals.

Stiefvater impresses me not only with her ability with words, but also with her ability to create very different stories. Lament sounds very different from the darker and more sophisticated-sounding The Scorpio Races. I liked The Raven Boys not only because it's not as pre-teen-ish sounding as Lament nor does it use overdone tropes like werewolves as she does in her Shiver trilogy. There's just more to this book than Lament or Shiver.

This story has a small romance component, but the story largely focuses on murder and the mystery. There's twists and turns, violence and social issues, ghosts and other spooky stuff. This is a great teen read for people who love a good supernatural story. I enjoyed it more than the supernatural drama in Beautiful Creaturesand it's written much better than the ultimate teen supernatural book: Twilight. All in all, a great teen book and a good choice to get young people reading something of substance.